CIS AIRLINES
one Tu-204 and partly pay for one 11-96,
plus some ATC equipment, simulators
and other peripherals.
The highest priority is being given to
extending aircraft lives, which is supposed
to account for 1.2 billion roubles. Even
that money, however, has not yet been
made available.
Small regional and utility aircraft were
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Goverment-owned operators, rather than
the private sector.
The most successful carrier, other than
Aeroflot, appears to be Transaero, provid
ing scheduled flights from Moscow to
Norlisk, Sochi, Kiev, Almaty, Minsk and
Riga. It has a booking office in the centre
of Moscow and it has become the first
domestic operator of foreign commercial
aircraft in the CIS.
Since June, Transaero has been operat
ing a pair of leased Boeing 737-200s on
domestic flights.
FLEET MODERNISATION
The Russian commercial fleet is worn out
and obsolete, Aeroflot deputy director
Vladimir Tikhonov concedes. He says:
"Most of the aircraft are old, fuel-
inefficient, ecologically dirty and do not
have enough range." When re-equipping,
Aeroflot will give priority to new-
generation Russian airliners, such as the
Ilyushin 11-96-300 and Tupolev Tu-204,
powered by Russian Aviadvigatel PS-90A
engines. The same aircraft powered by
Western engines might be procured, but
they are "significantly more expensive".
Tikhonov adds that acquiring Western
airliners from Boeing and Airbus is
inappropriate because of the hard cur
rency needed. Consequently, Aeroflot has
no plans to buy Western aircraft.
There are problems even with purchas
ing Russian-built aircraft, however. The
Voronezh plant is able to produce only
eight Il-96-300s a year, but the demand is
higher than that. An official DAT report
says that the average age of Russian
airliners is about 20 years and the fleet is,
on average, 70% through its lifespan. The
aircraft shortage is likely to be exacer
bated from 1994 onwards as the older
examples of earlier types are retired.
New independent
airlines do not have
enough funds to buy
new aircraft, so they
are purchased for
them by the state.
The level of financing
available is decreas
ing. In the first half of
1992, 5 billion rou
bles were allocated
for buying new air
craft, while in th<~Transaero>s 737_200s are certificated in Russia currency was given
first six months of - from tne state budget
The Estonian Air Tu-134 is on Estonia's own register
imported, mostly from Poland and former
Czechoslovakia, and they are the cause of
even greater concern. About 5,000 such
aircraft are operational in Russia, but a
severe shortage of spares, which now have
to be bought with hard currency, is
crippling their operation.
In the first half of this year, Russia
bought $8.5 million worth of spares from
Poland, but this is said to'^be' only 5.6%
of the required volume. Aaditional deliv
eries of spares for Antonov"' An-2, An-28
utility aircraft and Mil Mi-2 helicopters
worth $1.8 million have just been agreed.
Already, $1.5 million has been allocated
to buy spares from the Czech republic,
but operators have to find 850 million
roubles to provide the needed hard cur
rency. Despite the
exchange rate re
quired by the finance
ministry being much
lower than the real
one, the MoT says
that airlines do not
have funds to buy
dollars, even with
such a discount.
The MoT used to
enjoy a 90% dis
count, when hard
this year, because of high inflation, only
4.13 billion roubles were given by the
Government, which in real terms is far
less than in 1992.
Funds in 1992 were sufficient to ac
quire six Tu-154s, four Yakolev Yak-42s,
four Il-62Ms, two Il-86s, five Il-76TDs and
two Mil Mi-8s, plus ATC equipment.
There was also enough to finance some
life extension work on the operational
aircraft. This year's sum would buy only
and required only symbolic compensation
from an operator. Now the Government
cannot afford it, and, consequently, a high
percentage of aircraft made in the former
socialist countries are grounded.
To improve the situation, the Russian
Government ordered production of the
An-38 and An-3 utility aircraft to substi
tute for the An-28 and An-2, licence-
built in Poland. The Beriev Be-32 and
Ilyushin 11-112 will be ordered instead
of the Czech L-410 and L-610.
FUEL SHORTAGE
For years, Aeroflot enjoyed subsidised
fuel prices; but now the internal price of
jet fuel in the CIS is approaching the
international level. Inevitably, ticket
prices have soared and led to a sharp
decrease in passengers — 30% in the first
half of this year. In
Ukraine and Belarus,
both dependent on oil
imports from Russia,
the situation is even
worse.
The number of
flights leaving
Kharkov airport daily
has plummeted, from
about 100, to three,
while flights from re
gional airports to
Moscow and even to
the national capital
Kiev have been sus
pended. Hundreds of aircraft remain idle
on the ground and those that are being
flown are either chartered to foreign
airlines or are operating ad hoc flights
abroad for local entrepreneurs.
In Belarus, the national carrier Belavia
has suspended practically all of its inter
national flights. Due to the fuel shortage,
even the Belarussian head of state Stanis-
lav Shushkevich went on an official visit
to Moscow by train in September.
Russia's inefficient banking system pro
vides further difficulties. A money bank
transfer could travel for weeks, sometimes
months, in the CIS bank system before
reaching its destination. This means air
port authorities demand cash from air
crews for maintenance and refuelling at
intermediate landing points. Pilots actu
ally carry bags of roubles with them,
especially in remote areas. In one reported
case, the crew of a Tu-154 did not have
any cash, so the aircraft was trapped at a
Siberian airport until one of the passen
gers presented the cash required.
In such austere conditions, it remains
a mystery only wonder how some of the
operators, even using all their resourceful
ness, manage to remain profitable and
stay reliable. Dmitry Manakov, manager of
the Volga-Dnepr cargo carrier, flying six
Antonov An-124 Ruslans worldwide, says:
"Three basic principles of the company's
activity are healthy competition, ex
tremely high quality and collaboration
and partnership with maximum conven
ience for customers. This is the best way
to prove that Russia remains a * great
aviation power."
Volga-Dnepr does indeed seem to have
found itself a successful niche market, but
for most of the CIS operators, the gap
between their aspirations and reality
remains immense. V
FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 20 - 26 October, 1993